1. Calgary. After their unlikely run to the Stanley Cup final, the Flames will sell out all 41 home dates this season.

2. Columbus. Blue Jackets had a streak of 58 straight sellouts snapped before the lockout. What happens when these guys get good?

3. Edmonton. The Oilers produced 33 sellouts for a team that missed the playoffs. Fans are pumped about Chris Pronger and Michael Peca.

4. Montreal. Habs played to 96.6% of capacity. That still translated to an average of 20,555 fans per game.

5. Toronto. Gluttons for disappointment are the fans in Hogtown.

Anybody Need Tickets?

Can't give 'em away ...

1. Carolina. It's college hoop, football, NASCAR and tractor pulls before the Hurricanes on Tobacco Road. Return of the NHL has meant pre-season crowds of 6,000 a night at the RBC Center.

2. Washington. The Capitals are lousy and nobody is interested in watching them stiff again.

3. Chicago. Remember when Chi-town was the best place, bar none, to watch a game? Average crowd before the lockout was 13,253, leaving the Blackhawks 27th in the league. Bigger crowds at Maggiano's these days.

4. New Jersey. Even with a good team, a bad building means empty seats on any given night in the swamp.

5. Nashville. Predators will need another playoff berth or an Elvis sighting to average 14,000 a game. Don't count on either.

Feel The Noise

Loudest Barns in the NHL: These joints don't need canned crowd noise and scoreboard prompting for fans to raise the roof when the puck drops:

1. GM Place, Vancouver

2. Rexall Place, Edmonton

3. Corel Centre, Ottawa

I'll be in the library

Don't cheer; you'll wake somebody ...

1. RBC Center, Carolina

2. Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim

3. National Car Rental Center, Florida

Best media grub

Fat city, baby! Mmmm ...

1. Xcel Energy Centre, Minnesota

2. Bell Centre, Montreal

3. American Airlines Center, Dallas

BEHIND THE BENCH

The coaching carousel and who's on it:

New Faces

Wayne Gretzky, Phoenix

Randy Carlyle, Anaheim

Trent Yawney, Chicago

Mike Kitchen, St. Louis

Changing Places

Mike Babcock, Detroit

Jacques Martin, Florida

Joel Quenneville, Colorado

Larry Robinson, New Jersey

Tom Renney, New York Rangers

Who's next?

Coaches in the firing line:

1. Tom Renney. At least the Rangers can't blow $70 million on a payroll that misses the playoffs with the new CBA, but the fans at MSG will get restless if they don't see results. It's a sure bet some nut will bray, "Renney, you're a bum" during the national anthem at the Rangers' first home game.

2. Mike Babcock. Dave Lewis didn't get it done as the boss after stepping in for Scotty Bowman, and Babcock has his hands full meeting expectations in the Motor City. Nobody cared in Anaheim, but this is Hockeytown.

Mark Messier: With six Stanley Cups, two MVP awards, 694 goals, 1,887 points and 1,756 career games, not to mention the steeliest stare in the game, the magnificent Moose will go into the hall second to Wayne Gretzky in career scoring.

Ron Francis: Classy Ronnie Franchise hangs 'em up with 1,798 points in 1,731 career games. The two-time Stanley Cup winner went out the same way he always played - quietly. Not even a news conference to announce he was done.

Al MacInnis: Has there ever been a more feared shot from the point? MacInnis scored 340 goals and added 934 assists in 1,416 games. A Norris Trophy winner, MacInnis won his only Stanley Cup with Calgary in 1989.

Scott Stevens: You talkin' to me? With three Stanley Cups, 908 points in 1,635 games and countless concussed and crumpled opponents, the New Jersey captain was one of the most devastating hitters in the history of the game. You can hear sighs of relief all over the league.

Good Ones Gone

Vincent Damphousse

Adam Deadmarsh

Igor Larionov

James Patrick

IN WITH THE NEW

Keep an eye on these freshmen:

Homegrown

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh. Next One has a supporting cast.

Corey Perry, Anaheim. OHL scoring champ.

Cam Ward, Carolina. Alberta boy makes good.

Ryan Suter, Nashville. Slick and smart.

Jeff Carter, Philadelphia. Can't miss.

Mike Richards, Philadelphia. Neither will he.

The imports

Alexander Ovechkin, Washington. Too bad about the team.

Thomas Vanek, Buffalo. Ready for prime time.

Vojtech Polak, Dallas. Sneaky smooth.

Wojtek Wolski, Colorado. Adds skill on wing.

Niklas Kronwall, Detroit. Wings keep finding these guys.

Tomas Plekanec, Montreal. Dominated AHL.

The sleepers

Ryan Miller, Buffalo. The real deal.

Antero Nittymaki, Philadelphia. Late bloomer.

Andrew Hutchinson, Car. Hot in pre-season.

Robbie Schremp, Edmonton. Power play his calling card.

Gilbert Brule, Columbus. Jackets have a keeper.

MONEY MATTERS

Team Cheap: Here's the best lineup I could put together for the NHL's new minimum wage of $450,000. The Bill Wirtz dream team